Limericks from Frankfurt!
Of course it had to happen that the first “proper” update on this new site is, again, a bunch of limericks, but that’s how it goes…
These here were influenced, nay, inspired by the presentations held at the T&I-sessions in Frankfurt, 4-6 December 2009. I sent them around for approval before posting them here because it was quite a hard set of subjects of accurately convey in five lines, but as yet I have not gotten any complaints so I guess it is safe to post them here.
On the Theodosian Code
As the might of the emperor waxes
There’s no trader who ever relaxes
Cause the boss, Theodosius
Found their profits atrocious
“Read my Code”, he said, “There will be taxes!”
On Beer in Bobbio
In Bobbio it was not clear
What distinguished ‘Them There’ from ‘Us Here’
Said our Jonas “Why bother?”
“Clearly they are ‘The Other’”
“Because look! They are all drinking beer!”
On a Miscommunication
Steve, the second on the papal see
Changed his Byzantine diplomacy
Said “I think they’re a pest”
“Also iconoclast!”
“And quite Frankly, it’s all Greek to me!”
On Rewriting
There once was a dracontian poem
And Eugenius did claim to know ‘im
But he changed some quotations
And made interpolations
And he also did not really seem to care about metre
De Rex Balbulus
Louis had crown, and sceptre, and ring
But still nobody was listening
So all over the nation
He did use confirmations
To prove he was k- k- k- king
On Charles the Second
Charles the Bald said “Please do not compare”
“Me to dad, that pious débonair”
“‘Cause (forgive me the pun)”
“I have several sons”
“But I don’t have legitimate hairs”
On Collisions and Consequences
Medievalists don’t even try
But in truth it can not be denied
It creates a distortion
Of epic proportions
When methodologies collide
On Nicknames
King Pippin sped quickly from court
To see Austremoine’s relic-transport
But when he took off his pants
And he started to dance
People knew why they called him “The Short”
On Tithes
Caesarius preached to the lords
“Pay the tithes that you all can afford!”
“Give me change to believe in”
“I’m so poor that I even”
“Should be economic with words!”